Mob In Ukraine Seizes Provincial Building, Declares Independence

Pro-Russian protesters gather next to a barricade as they occupy the regional administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.

Roman PilipeyEPA/Landov

Originally published on April 7, 2014 11:53 am

Pro-Russian separatists who seized a provincial building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have reportedly declared an independent "people's republic" in a move that echoes events leading to last month's secession of Crimea.

You can see video of the scuffle between police and protesters that led up to the storming of the building here.

After the takeover of the building, one Russian speaker appeared at a podium, proclaiming "the creation of the sovereign state of the People's Republic of Donetsk," according to Al-Jazeera. The Associated Press reports that afterward "a barricade of car tires and razor wire" was erected outside the building to keep police from retaking it.

Ukrainian police responded by closing all roads leading into the city.

"Unknown people who are in the building have broken into the building's arsenal and have seized weapons," police said in a statement on Monday.